The San Diego Padres signed starter Griffin Canning for short money during the offseason, but now they really need him.
The San Diego Padres are having some serious problems with the back end of their rotation, and they need to get them fixed fast. The sample size is small with just a half-dozen games in the books, but anyone who thinks the Padres can make the playoffs with pitchers like German Marquez and Walker Buehler as rotation mainstays has a very vivid imagination.
That’s what makes Griffin Canning’s rehabilitation a lot more serious than it first appeared to be a month ago. Canning is one of those waiver-wire flyers that teams take all the time, but the Padres are now relying on those kinds of players to help get them through the regular season.
Fortunately, Canning is on track to make an early return, according to a report from Darragh McDonald of MLBTradeRumors.com. He threw a simulated three-inning game game a couple of days ago, according to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune, and he’ll begin a rehab assignment on Saturday.
Rehab assignments can last as long as 30 days, which could mean Canning is trending toward a return in April or early May. When the Padres first signed Canning, it was initially reported that May or June was the most likely timeline for his first appearance, but now things may be a little more optimistic.
Or the Padres could be pushing to make this happen. They’re in something of a race against time given the state of their rotation, as they’re well aware that they can only stay in contention for so long with their current collection of hurlers.
Canning is coming off a torn Achilles that he sustained last year, but he’s also one of the few pitchers in the low end of the market who have something resembling a track record. The New York Mets thought they had something with Canning last year when the right-hander posted a 2.47 ERA over his first nine starts in New York before he got hurt, so the Padres are basically trying to recapture that magic.
San Diego will trot out Buehler and Marquez on Sunday and Monday against the Boston Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively. They’ll also be hoping the new and improved version of starter Randy Vasquez can show out again on Saturday against the Red Sox.
Yesterday’s win kept the Padres from falling behind the Colorado Rockies, and you know things are bad if you have to type out the second half of that sentence. The Rockies will be their first home opponent when they return from their current trip next Thursday.